On Velvet Paws
by LastCorsair
Summary: When Weiss Schnee wakes to find an unexpected visitor in her bed, her life takes an interesting turn. Monochrome fluff, Shapeshifter AU
1. An Unexpected Visitor

**A/N: This fanfic is hereby dedicated to Mordred, and all our other four-footed feline friends.**

* * *

Weiss jerked awake as the ending credits began to play. Dammit, she was going to have to rewatch that episode. Not that she wouldn't have the free time. "I have got to get a social life," she said for the umpteenth time to her empty living room. Another night by herself, binge-watching FlixNet.

Not that her life didn't have _meaning_ , of course. She was an assistant director at the Vale Museum of Art, a remarkable achievement for someone as young as she was. Almost all of the other assistant directors were old enough to be her parents.

Weiss shut the television off, stretching and yawning as she stood up. She stepped onto the patio of her condo, looking out across the light of the city of Vale. She'd been lucky to get an apartment with this gorgeous of a view at such an amazing price. Or so she kept telling herself. Truth be told, it was a bit more than she could really afford on her salary, but it's not like she spent a lot of money on other things.

She leaned her arms on the patio wall, inhaling the cool night air. It had been ten long years since her father went to prison and her family lost everything. He hadn't been content with the massive profits the Schnee Bank had already been making, oh no. In his greed and arrogance, Jacques Schnee had dived deeply into money laundering, investment fraud, and a host of other questionable and outright illegal financial practices. Her family had managed to keep enough that her mother didn't need to work, and her and her brother's educations had been provided for, but it was a far cry from the wealth and position they'd once enjoyed.

So Weiss had chosen to go to college in Vale instead of Atlas, putting distance between herself and her onetime friends. Most of them had dropped her like a hot rock once it became evident that her father was guilty and Weiss was going to lose _everything_. Instant pariah, just add scandal. Weiss had never been good at making friends, and now she didn't have any left outside of a few people she had drinks with occasionally.

Okay, that was quite enough self-pity. If Weiss continued on like this, she'd be pouring herself some wine and watching some stupid romantic comedy before she knew it. It was well past time to call it a night. She left the patio and walked through the living room into the bedroom.

Weiss could feel the empty bed mocking her as she changed into her nightgown. Maybe she could try online dating again? No, the last time had been an utter disaster. Restraining orders had become involved. But the new tech director at the museum was charming and single. She slid under the duvet and nodded. Yes, definitely a possibility. Admittedly, the girl was a bit energetic, but maybe that would be a good change.

A _thump-thump_ at the foot of the bed caught Weiss's attention. In the darkness, she could barely make out the shape of a jet-black cat padding its way up the bed towards her. "Well hello there," Weiss murmured. "How did you get in?" She reached up to stroke the cat's head and it leaned into her, butting its head against her hand. "Affectionate, aren't you? And gorgeous, too. No collar, though." A little too well-behaved and healthy to be a truly wild cat, she thought. Probably someone's pet or only recently abandoned. Weiss knew a no-kill shelter nearby that might have room. She could take the cat there in the morning. Or maybe she could take the cat in herself if no-one claimed it. Yes, a pet to come home to would at least be better than an empty apartment.

The cat curled up on the duvet next to her, purring as it closed its eyes.

* * *

Blake stirred sleepily as the morning sunlight found its way in through the window. Her leg bumped into something and she pried open one sleepy eye to see what it was. She drew a sharp breath as she found pale blue eyes staring down at her. "Good morning," a crisp Atlas accent spoke, "would you care to explain who you are, and why you're naked in my bed? Before I call the police, of course."

Blake sat half-way up, clutching the blanket to herself. Shit, this wasn't her bedroom. And yeah, she was naked. "I, uh, I must have been sleepwalking," Blake muttered, mortified. She'd been sleepwalking her whole life, but this was taking things to a whole new level.

"That is not an explanation, or at best it's an incomplete one." The other woman glanced around the room as if searching for something.

"I, uh," Blake faltered. No helping it, she would have to tell this woman the whole truth. "I'm a shifter. A cat shifter, to be specific. And yeah, I sleepwalk, so sometimes I end up going padding around in my sleep."

"A cat..." The white-haired woman stopped her search of the room to look at Blake. "That wouldn't be a black cat, would it?" Blake gave a short nod, afraid to look the other woman in the eye. "There was a black cat in here when I went to sleep. I assumed it was a stray that had gotten in somehow, but perhaps that was you?"

"Y-yeah, that was probably me." Blake finally summoned up the nerve to look up. "My name's Blake, by the way, and I'm really, really sorry about this."

"Weiss, and I believe I can forgive you." Weiss's eyes narrowed, and her voice took on a challenging tone. "Provided, of course, you can demonstrate your shifting for me."

Call her a liar would she? It's not like Blake was enjoying the awkward situation or anything. She concentrated for a moment, reaching for that special spot in her mind. In a multicolored blur, Blake disappeared, shrinking in on herself and leaving a lump under the duvet. A black-furred cat crept out, flicking its ears at Weiss. She started to reach out to stroke its fur, but stopped, her hand in midair. "I suppose it would be rude to treat you like an animal in this form." Another ear-flick was the only response she got. "Of course, you can't talk. Well, I have some sweats you can borrow. I'll set them out for you, then go start the coffee so you can get dressed."

* * *

Blake accepted the cup of coffee Weiss offered her, inhaling its aroma with gratitude. "Oh, that smells good. Better than what my roommates drink, that's for sure."

"Are they likely to be worried about you? Do you need to call them?"

Blake glanced at the clock, then shook her head. "Yang's probably still comatose, she had a late shift last night. And Ruby's probably at work already. She said something about some big exhibit being set up today."

"Ruby... that wouldn't be Ruby Rose, would it?" Weiss sat down on a stool by kitchen island, regarding her unexpected guest with an appraising eye. Blake was a bit taller than Weiss, with long black hair. "About your height, black hair with red highlights, seems really shallow and childish at first, but has hidden depths?"

"Sounds like her. You two know each other?" Blake sat on another stool, leaving an empty one between them, sipping her coffee.

"Vaguely. She's in the technical department at the museum I work at." Weiss sipped her coffee, eyes unfocused as her mind wandered away. "I'm one of the assistant directors. We help arrange exhibits, run events, that sort of thing."

"Oh, so you're Ruby's boss."

"More like I tell Ruby's supervisor what needs doing, and they tell Ruby."

"Got it." An uncomfortable silence filled the room. _Well, isn't this a great big ball of awkward,_ Blake thought. Before she could speak, Weiss cleared her throat. "Would, ah, would you like a ride home? I know where Ruby's house is; I gave her a lift home once when her car broke down."

"That would be awesome." Blake turned to face Weiss, finally finding the courage to look her in the face. "I am really, really sorry about this. I mean, I've been sleepwalking my whole life, and this isn't the first time I've wandered out in cat form, but I have never, ever, wandered this far from home before. Or into a stranger's home, either."

"It's fine." Weiss met Blake's eyes with a sigh. "To be honest, today is my day off, and I really didn't have anything planned. So if nothing else, you have managed to liven up what would ordinarily be a very uneventful day."

* * *

"...And that brings us to the Rathbone exhibit. How is the planning for that coming along?" Goodwitch looked over her glasses at Weiss. They were sitting in Weiss's office, discussing the projects Weiss was in charge of.

"Mixed. The Rathbone estate keeps changing their minds about what they're sending for the exhibit. However, most the other major contributors have confirmed their contributions. I'm pressing the estate for a final, final list, not to be altered again, but they're waffling." Weiss picked up a folder from her desk and flipped through it, pulling out a set of stapled papers and handing it to Goodwitch. "This is the latest list from the estate. Most of the items we were hoping to see are on it, though there are some significant items missing."

Goodwitch scanned the papers, her lips set in a hard thin line. "Indeed. I see half a dozen items off the top of my head that are missing. None of the Dixie Lane costumes? Their absence will significantly diminish the exhibit."

"I'm trying to convince them to at least send some of the costumes, but they're extremely reluctant. Apparently, the costumes are frequent targets of theft attempts over the years, and they're concerned about our security."

"Mm." Goodwitch sipped her coffee in thought. "It might be better if Director Ozpin or I took over speaking with the Rathbone estate. Just to make them feel as if we're taking their concerns seriously. That is not a slight on you." She favored Weiss with one of her rare smiles. I will admit I initially had my doubts about hiring you, given your lack of experience. However, you have proven yourself an extraordinarily capable young woman, and a good administrator. I sometimes wonder if I should be worried about my job."

Weiss blushed, the color clearly visible against her pale complexion. "I hardly think so, ma'am. I'm far too young and inexperienced for that."

"Now, yes, but in ten years..." Goodwitch scanned Weiss's office, taking in the bare walls, lack of any decoration. The only sign that this was Weiss's space and not some disused office was the expensive coffee maker tucked in a corner. Goodwitch winced inside, careful not to let her concern show to the young woman. Honestly, the thing that worried her most about Weiss was her over-dedication to her work. Weiss worked even longer hours than Goodwitch did and had almost zero social life. There were prison cells with more personality than Weiss's home.

A knock at the door interrupted Goodwitch's thoughts. Standing there was one of the people from the technical department, holding a shopping bag in one hand. "Uh, sorry, is this a bad time? I can come back..."

"Not at all. Please, come in." Goodwitch's curiosity was piqued.

"I'm not staying long. Blake just asked me to return these to Weiss." Ruby handed the shopping bag to Weiss, who set it on the floor next to her desk. Ruby fidgeted for a moment, glancing at Goodwitch before she continued. "She also wanted to know if you wanted to come over and hang out tonight. We're doing a bad movie night."

"I'll...think about it. What movie is it, may I ask?" Weiss's eyes flickered between Goodwitch and Ruby, trying to gauge Goodwitch's reaction. Goodwitch wasn't giving her any clues, watching the two of them impassively.

"No idea. It's Yang's turn to pick, and she says she's archive diving for this one. Probably a double feature of something truly horrible. Starts at six, don't be late."

After Ruby had left, Goodwitch looked at Weiss, a hint of a smile turning up one corner of her mouth. "I didn't realize you knew Miss Rose socially."

"I ended up giving her roommate a ride home yesterday."

"And the shopping bag?"

"A change of clothes was also involved."

"I see." Goodwitch matched Weiss's gaze for a moment, then looked down at the papers in her hands. "I know you often work late, but I don't think there's anything you're working on that's so urgent as to require you to work tonight." She looked up at the young woman with concern.

"The Rathbone exhibit-"

"-Will wait until tomorrow, especially if Director Ozpin or myself needs to talk to the estate. In fact, let's see if he's free now. If we need to make additional security arrangements, that's something we need to discuss with him."

* * *

Weiss drew a deep breath, smoothing out her skirt. Ruby hadn't said this was a formal occasion, so she'd gone as 'un-formal' as her wardrobe allowed. A plain blue blouse and black skirt, plus her favorite pair of wedge shoes. She reached for the doorbell hesitantly. 'Hanging out' was not something she'd really done before. Weiss shook her head and pressed the button. She could hear a jaunty tune ringing through the house. There, she was committed now.

Why was she doing this? She barely knew these people. Ruby in passing from work, Blake from their rather awkward encounter yesterday, and apparently there was someone named Yang involved as well? Still, even if things went horrifically wrong, her car was here, and she had pepper spray in her purse.

The door opened, and Weiss couldn't stop herself from taking a step back. A decidedly amazonian blonde woman stood there, wearing a tank top and shorts. "H-hi, I'm Weiss. Um, Blake invited me?"

The blonde laughed. "Yeah, she said she'd asked Ruby to invite you. I'm Yang, Ruby's sister. Come on in."

Weiss followed Yang into the house. It was very different from any home she'd ever been in. There was _stuff_ everywhere. It wasn't dirty, the house was very clean, it was just cluttered. There was a display case in the living room filled with plastic figurines, and more on shelves. One wall was covered in various movie posters. Weiss could count a dozen game consoles of varying vintages from the bleeding edge to the downright archaic on the entertainment center.

It was probably the most visually crowded space Weiss had ever been in. And yet it still managed to seem incredibly _comfortable._ She stood just inside the living room, just staring at everything until Blake wandered in and set down a bowl of an orange-ish substance. "Oh, hi, Weiss, glad you came. Have a seat." Blake reached up and ran her hand through her hair, tucking some loose hair behind her ear.

Yang chortled from the kitchen. "So what's your poison? We've got a variety."

"Poison? I'm sorry, I don't understand." Weiss sat down gingerly on the couch. It smelled, and she had serious doubts about its structural integrity.

"For the drinking game." Seeing the lack of comprehension on Weiss's face, Yang explained. "Ah, nobody explained that. See, we play a drinking game while we watch the movie. There's a whole bunch of things, every time they happen in the movie, you take a drink. Here," Yang shoved a drink in Weiss's hand. "That's a rum and coke, that'll get you started."

"I-" Weiss stopped, looking at the drink she'd just been handed. "I don't drink much. Usually just some wine, with friends."

"Eh, we'll learn you. Ooh, chips," Yang exclaimed, snagging a handful from the bowl Ruby was setting on the coffee table and dipping one in the orange gunk.

"What-what is that?" It looked absolutely revolting.

"Cheese dip. Have some." Yang plopped down on the couch and dipped another chip.

Weiss plucked up a chip and dipped it gingerly into the dip. Popping it in her mouth, she chewed it carefully. "It manages to simultaneously be absolutely revolting and delicious."

"Perfect bad movie night food," Ruby proclaimed, sitting in a recliner and helping herself to the chips and dip.

Blake returned carrying bottles of soda and a large glass bottle. "This time I'm mixing the drinks, not Yang."

"Awww," the blonde objected.

"One, we've got a first-timer with us. And two, it's bad movie night, not you and Ruby seeing who passes out first."

Weiss glanced at Ruby and Yang, a suspicious look on her face. "I'm assuming that betting on Yang in that instance would be what they call a 'sucker bet'?"

"Yeah." Blake dropped down on the couch, leaving Weiss sandwiched between her and Yang. "Ruby's got an iron liver and a hollow leg. I saw her drink three huge bikers under the table. And she was still game for more, but we got thrown out of the bar."

Weiss was starting to wonder exactly what she'd gotten herself into. She was a stranger to these people, and they were treating her as if they'd known her for years. "Okay, so what are we watching? Something suitably dreadful, I presume."

"Drink," Ruby said.

"Excuse me?"

"Drink. One of the rules is, never ask what the movie is. Or what it's about. We all get to be surprised and suffer together."

Weiss took a healthy gulp of her drink. There was no way she was backing down from _this_ challenge. "Well, let's get started then."

Yang grinned as she started the movie. "We've got a double feature tonight, everyone. The seminal feature _Werewolves from Hell_ and _Werewolves from Hell II: The Culling!_ Buckle up, ladies, it's gonna be a ride!"

It didn't take long for Weiss to grasp the basics of the game. The rules consisted of pointing out cliches in the movie and guessing the terrible dialogue in advance. If you were the first to point it out, or you got the dialogue right, everyone else drank. If you got it wrong, you drank.

In the break between the movies, Blake made a fresh round of drinks for everyone. "So, Weiss, how did you meet Blake? I mean, you know Ruby from work, but it was Blake's idea to invite you, so I'm kinda curious," Yang asked, picking up her drink.

"I woke up yesterday morning with Blake naked in my bed," Weiss replied, smirking as she sipped her own drink.

The timing was perfect. Yang had just taken a swig of her drink, and she spat it out, coughing. Weiss and Ruby both started laughing, and Blake punched Weiss in the arm. "You didn't have to tell them that part!"

"Serves you right for sleepwalking, Blake!" Ruby chortled, raising her glass in salute to Weiss.

"Nothing happened," Blake growled. "I just went sleepwalking in my cat form."

Weiss glanced at Blake. "So they know, then?"

"About the sleepwalking and her being a shifter," Yang nodded. "There's cat flaps on the front and back doors. Usually, we shut them before bed, but sometimes we goof up. It's not the first time Blake's woken up somewhere in the neighborhood

"Uh, can we just start the next movie, please?" Blake looked positively mortified; Yang decided to take pity on her and started the second movie.

By the time the credits rolled, Blake and Weiss were passed out leaning up against each other. Yang pulled out her phone and started to take a picture, but Ruby held out a hand to stop her. "Sis, don't. I have a feeling Weiss seriously needed this, and I don't want her not wanting to come back."

Yang groaned. "Are we adopting another lost soul, Ruby?"

"Yeah, I think we are. Remember Jaune? How he came into our lives? Or Nora? Stop and think how unlikely Blake and Weiss' meeting was." Ruby looked down at Wess. It was remarkable how relaxed Weiss had looked towards the end of the evening as opposed to when she arrived. "I don't know her story and I'm not going to pry, but I think life's been a little rough on her. She needs friends."

* * *

Something bumped Blake's nose, and she sleepily swatted at it. It hit her nose again, stinging this time, and Blake's eyes opened. A gorgeous Siamese cat was looking her in the eye. It meowed piteously. "Well, hello there, where did you come from?" Blake stretched and yawned, looking around. She'd passed out on the couch again. Wait, where was Weiss? Weiss's clothes were piled on the couch next to her, right where the Siamese was sitting. A sneaking suspicion formed in Blake's mind. Sure enough, the cat had a scar over its left eye, matching the one Weiss had. "Weiss? Is that you?"

The cat meowed and glared at her.


	2. A Minor Complication

"So how did you turn Weiss into a cat? Can you do it to me?" Ruby was crouched down, reaching out to rub the now feline Weiss's ears. Weiss leaned into it for a moment, then swatted Ruby's hand out of the way with a paw and glared at Blake, who sat on the couch with her head in her hands.

Blake rolled her eyes in annoyance at Ruby. "For the umpteenth time, Ruby, I didn't 'turn Weiss into a cat.' There's no ritual for being a shifter, it's not a disease you can catch, no magic charms, nothing like that. Either you're born a shifter, or you aren't. It runs in families, though, and if you've got a shifter parent—or both, like me—you're more likely to be one." Blake slid off the couch, getting on eye level with Weiss. "Any shifters in your family, Weiss?" Weiss flicked her ears at Blake and padded to the other end of the table, sitting down as far from Blake as she could get.

"I would take that as a no, Blake." Yang pulled on her jacket and checked her watch. "Listen, I've got to get to work. Early shift today for once. You got this?"

"Yeah, go on, I think we've got this. Or at least, I think I can help." Weiss padded back towards Blake, meowing piteously up at her. "Yeah, I know, it's kinda confusing the first time. Most shifters have their first shift as children or teenagers. Having the first shift come in adulthood is rare, and gets rarer as you get older."

"How old were you, Blake?" Ruby sat down in one of the chairs and gingerly reached out to stroke Weiss's ears again.

"Four, and I instantly became the most impossible child in the world, according to my dad. You know the kind of trouble kittens get into? Imagine a kitten with the mind of a toddler. I have seen pictures of the havoc I caused." Blake smiled then shook her head. "Later for that. Now we need to sort you out, Weiss. Close your eyes and try to 'look' for something in your mind, something that wasn't there yesterday, or maybe something that's different from yesterday. Once you find it, 'poke' it, that should help you shift."

Weiss screwed her eyes shut, concentrating hard. Blake fought to keep from smiling at how adorable she looked. This was serious. Weiss had to learn to control her shifting as soon as possible. And even after she learned to change back, Weiss had to learn to keep herself from shifting. Changing into a cat in the middle of a meeting would probably not be good for her career.

After ten minutes, Weiss opened her eyes and meowed. She slumped down, one forepaw hanging off the coffee table. Blake exhaled slowly. "Okay, this is going to be harder than I hoped. Time for the nuclear option: Calling my parents." Blake pulled out her phone and dialed, putting it on speaker on the table.

"Blake, honey, it's good to hear from you," Blake's mother Kali answered. "How are things in the big city of Vale today?"

"Uh, things have taken kind of an interesting turn today. I've got a new friend, she's just had her first shift, and she's kinda stuck."

A deep, gentle voice answered. "And since she's a friend of yours, I'm guessing she's an adult?" Weiss meowed. "Was that her? Don't worry, you're not the first person I've seen have trouble after their first shift. I'm Ghira, Blake's father. Her mother Kali and I will be there as soon as we can. For now, stick close to Blake, and take her advice."

"O-kaay," Ruby gave a long exhale. "So, we've got a few hours until Blake's parents arrive. Luckily, I don't have to work today. And there's FlixNet. So, what's your show to binge-watch, Weiss?"

Weiss hopped off the coffee table onto Blake's lap, sniffing her coffee cup. She meowed piteously, looking up at Blake. "I think it's black coffee, Ruby," Blake answered with a laugh. "But better make it half a cup, there's less of her to go around."

While Ruby went to get Wiess a small bowl of coffee, Blake grabbed the TV remote and brought up FlixNet. After about ten minutes of trial and error, they found a show to take Weiss's mind off things. "Are you sure, Weiss? I mean, I haven't ever watched this one, but I hear it's pretty...creepy." Weiss's answer was a short, decisive "Mrow," as she batted at the remote. Ruby and Blake looked at each other with a shrug as the first episode of _Grimm Tidings_ began to play.

Two hours later, Ruby and Blake were utterly hooked, both of them leaning forward as the heroine, Penny, crept down a dusty hallway, an heirloom saber clutched in her shaking hands. Penny was just reaching for the knob on the door at the end of the hallway when the Imperial March started playing from the pile of Weiss's clothes. All three jumped up, Weiss falling off the coffee table. Blake reached over rummaged through the clothes, coming up with Weiss's phone. "It says it's Goodwitch."

"Weiss's boss," Ruby whispered. "Deputy director of the museum. My boss too."

"Should I answer it?" Weiss's answer was to bump the phone up towards Blake's face. "Okay, here goes. Hello?" she answered the phone.

"I"m trying to reach a Weiss Schnee. Is this her phone?" Goodwitch's voice was sharp, firm, like a stern schoolteacher.

"It is, but Weiss is, uh unavailable right now. She had something come up, something personal."

"And I assume this is something you'd rather I hear from Weiss than you. Well, this is the first such lapse on her part, so I will forgive her. Assuming she can provide a reasonable explanation. Please have her call me as soon as she's available."

After Goodwitch had hung up, Blake let out a sigh of relief. "Wow, shes kind of stern, isn't she?"

"You get used to it. She's really good at keeping everything organized. Now come on, I want to see what's behind the door." Ruby reached for the remote to restart the show, but Penny's fate would have to wait. Blake's parents had arrived.

Kali crouched down to meet Weiss's eyes. "Well, you are a pretty one. I'd say your cat form is a purebred Siamese. Does she have the scar in human form?" Blake and Ruby both nodded. "Good. If it carries over between both forms, we can use it as an anchor to help her shift. "Anything else the same? Do we have a picture of her?"

Weiss across the coffee table and tapped her phone. "Oh! Weiss's eyes are the same ice blue. And I'd be willing to bet she's got a picture or two with her in it." Blake looked through Weiss's pictures, eventually finding a selfie of Weiss in business attire standing in front of the Vale Museum of Art. "I bet that was your first day at work wasn't it?" Blake asked, showing Weiss the picture. "You've got a good eye. You should take photography classes."

Ruby, Ghira, and Kali all laughed, leaving Weiss meowing in bewilderment. Kali took pity on Weiss and booped her on the nose. "Blake's a professional photographer. She thinks everyone could use photography classes. Including blind people. Now follow me, and we'll see if we can't get you back to your old self. Blake, we'll use your room, if that's okay."

Weiss ambled around Blake's room, sniffing things and rubbing her face on some of them. Kali chuckled. "It's okay, Weiss. Your mind's running on cat hardware right now. Go ahead and explore." Kali looked around the cluttered room, shaking her head in maternal despair. "Honestly, she never could keep her room clean. About the only thing that's ever been neat and tidy is her cameras. 'A professional takes good care of their tools or they're not in business long,' she keeps saying." Weiss meowed at Kali and then hopped onto the table under the open window. "Now, now," Kali said, standing up and laying a hand on Weiss, "let's get you to where you can shift back and forth at will before you go roaming the neighborhood, shall we? After all, if you get picked up by Animal Control or something, you'll need to able to post bail."

Kali sat cross-legged in the middle of the floor, patting a spot in front of her for Weiss to sit. She set the phone in front of Weiss. "Okay there. That's you, do you remember? We look at ourselves every day, but how well do we really _know_ our bodies, hmm? As shifters, we have to know them better than most people. Makes it easier to shift back and forth. Now I want you to look at the picture, and remember your face. Build it in your mind. That scar, do you remember how you got it? Good. Build outwards from it. Remember the differences between that and your other eye. Remember looking into the mirror and seeing those pale blue eyes staring at you. Remember your nose, your lips, the line of your chin. Frame it all in that long white hair, so odd to be white as young as you are. You wear the hair in an off-center ponytail, don't you? It's not loose, it'd be in the way if it were, wouldn't it?"

She kept talking, keeping her voice calm and level. "Now close your eyes. Right now you're a cat. You know what a cat's shaped like, right? Well, for a shifter, it's shaped just like your normal body is, it's just folded differently. It's kind of like origami. What you need to learn to do is unfold the cat and refold it as a human. Let's start with parts that are the same. Your eyes are the same color, they're just cat eyes in cat form and normal eyes as a human. The scar, that's the same too. And your arms and legs are long and lean in human form, like a dancer. Are you a dancer, Weiss? Now imagine that cat face, unfolding and expanding to your human face, those long, slender Siamese legs unfolding into your human arms and legs. I want you to go over it again and again in your mind. Something should be twitching, stirring in your mind at the thought of it. Don't focus on it, not just yet. Keep running through the folding and unfolding in your mind. First cat, then woman, then cat again. Now open your eyes and watch me."

Weiss watched as Kali shifted down to cat form, back to human, then back and forth a few times. "There, you see? Now, remember that twitchy patch in your mind? It should be easier to find now, but don't 'look' straight at it. Instead, you've got to sneak up on it, at least at first, until you master it. I want you to imagine yourself as a cat, this time one that's stalking its prey. You have to be stealthy, quiet, a master of the hunt. Your prey is elusive; if it wasn't, you'd have caught it a long time ago. When you've caught it, unfold it and you'll be yourself again."

Weiss crouched down, as if she were an actual cat, her eyes closed, tail twitching behind her. Suddenly she darted forward, tumbling end over end, fetching up against the shelving unit where Blake kept her equipment. "Owww," Weiss muttered, rubbing her head. Suddenly it hit her. She was human again! Weiss started to jump to her feet, then remembered she was naked in front of a stranger and tried to cover herself. Kali laughed handed her a robe off the back of Blake's door. "Don't worry about it too much, dear. You get used to nudity and being naked when you're a shifter or around them a lot."

"Thank you. Wait, why did your clothes shift when you did, and mine and Blake's don't?" Weiss pulled her hair out from under the robe and gave a nice wide stretch.

"It's something you learn with practice. Another useful trick is crawling into a pile of clothes and shifting into them. Ghira likes doing that with a tuxedo as a party trick.

Weiss snorted. "I'd like to see that. It would impress me more than just keeping your clothes with you."

* * *

Blake jumped to her feet and hugged Weiss as soon as they walked into the living room. "Oh thank god, Weiss. I am so sorry about this. I never meant it to happen."

"It's fine." Weiss flinched then decided to go with it and hugged Blake back. "At least I'm back to normal and don't have to worry about this again. No telling anyone, okay?"

"It's not that simple." Ghira leaned forward in his chair, his eyes fixed on Weiss. "You have to practice with it more in order to control it. Sometimes you will find the urge to shift into your cat form come out of nowhere. You need to learn to recognize when the urge is coming on, and how to stop it. Or at least when you need to find somewhere to be alone while you get yourself together."

"Thank you," Weiss said as Ruby handed her a cup of coffee. "Fine then. Can we work this around my work schedule? Ugh, I need to call Goodwitch back." Weiss reached for her phone only to have Ruby snatch it away.

"Take a sick day today. I think this qualifies as an 'I need time to get my shit in order' sort of life event if there ever was one." Ruby's voice was quite emphatic as she sat down.

"Unfortunately, Kali and I won't be able to be your teachers. We do live two hours away, after all." Ghira's brow furrowed as he thought. "I'll call around, see if there are any _fukoi_ teachers in town that will take on an adult student."

" _Fukoi_?" The word was familiar somehow, but Weiss couldn't place it.

"An old word for the art of shifting that's come back into fashion lately. It's like any other mental discipline, some people just master the basics, others go further with it. Do you live alone?"

"Yes, thankfully. No-one to freak out if I wander around my condo on four paws."

"Any family or friends to help you?"

"None. My family is in Atlas, and my 'friends'"—Weiss couldn't keep the sneer out of her voice—"stopped returning my calls after what happened with my father. I'm better off without them anyway."

Blake glanced from Weiss to Ruby, then back again. "Hey, Ruby, we've got that extra room, don't we, now that Jaune's moved out. Maybe Weiss could stay there, sometimes."

"I think that comes close enough to Weiss becoming a new roommate that it's going to have to be a unanimous household decision. We'll talk about it when Yang gets off work. Assuming Weiss is interested, of course."

"I-" Weiss stopped, Hang out with Blake, Yang, and Ruby more? It sounded nice, but..."I don't know. I'm not very good company."

Ruby waved a hand vaguely. "Pfft, you'll be fine. We just need to loosen you up some more. And you don't _have_ to be here any more than you want to."

"Okay." To be honest, last night had been the most enjoyable evening Weiss had spent in years.

Blake gave Ruby a look, careful not to let Weiss see it. Yeah, give Weiss a few months, and she'd be a full-time roommate. "Come on, let's finish that episode of _Grimm Tidings._ "

* * *

The next morning, Weiss sat in her car in the museum parking lot. For the first time in years, she was _scared_ to go to work. What would Goodwitch say, how would she react? _I will not yield to fear. Best to face the consequences of events._

Weiss made her way to Goodwitch's office, hesitated for a moment, then gave three sharp knocks. _Good, confident._ "Come in. Ah, Miss Schnee, it's good to see you. I take it your situation from yesterday has been resolved.?"

"Partially. The situation is ongoing and I have some adjustments to make."

"I see." Goodwitch rested her chin on her hands, her green eyes fixing Weiss in place. "And exactly what is this 'situation,' or were you simply too hung over to come to work?"

"I-I found out yesterday I'm a shifter," Weiss blurted out nervously.

"And that prevented you from coming to work yesterday how, exactly?"

"I woke up as a cat and couldn't change back."

Goodwitch blinked. She thought she'd heard every conceivable excuse not to come to work, but had to give this credit for originality. Although the fear in Weiss's voice sounded a little too genuine. "That must have been terrifying. How long were you stuck as a cat?" She asked, gesturing for Weiss to take a seat.

"Almost three hours after I woke up. Fortunately, one of Ruby's roommates is a shifter and was able to get me some help. Thank you," Weiss finished as Goodwitch handed her a cup of tea.

"Good. Now, do we need to make any accommodations here at work?" _Like a damn cat flap on your office door,_ Goodwitch thought, careful to keep that to firmly to herself.

"That should not be necessary. Although it has been suggested to me that I find an instructor to help me master my shifting. I will need to coordinate that with my work schedule."

Goodwitch nodded. "Of course. Please keep me informed. Now, about the Rathbone exhibit..."

* * *

"Hello?" Weiss called into the emptiness of the room. The walls and floor were padded, like a dojo, and there were various obstacles scattered around the room. It all looked rather like a dog agility course to Weiss. _Well, I suppose it might be used for that too._ Certainly learning to move in animal form was something shifters would be very likely to do.

"Sorry, I was doing paperwork," a man with sideburns said as he stepped out an office at the back of the room. "I'm Tukson, you must be Weiss."

"Indeed I am, sir." Weiss shook the hand he extended carefully. "Ghira said you were very good."

"Don't worry, I don't bite. Much." Tukson laughed. "Sorry, trying to lighten the mood. I hear it's been a rough few days for you. So let's see it."

"Excuse me?"

"Shift. Let's see you do it."

"Of-of course." Weiss closed her eyes in concentration, poking at that weird place in her mind. After a moment she worked her way out of her clothing and sat there, tail twitching, looking up at Tukson. She meowed at him as if to say, _So now what?_

"Good. Nice clean shift, no problems. You're still having to concentrate, which is okay. Here," he tossed her a bathrobe from a hook nearby, "change back and put that on. I'll have you shifting back and forth a bit today, so don't bother getting fully dressed. Something else I bet nobody's explained yet. Wardrobe changes."

Weiss belted the robe and crossed her arms. "You're referring to shifting my clothes with me."

"No, you probably won't master that for years, if ever. Most people don't. I'm talking about clothes you can get out of easily in cat form. I'd ask Blake or Kali for advice there since they're both housecat shifters."

"I see." Weiss's cheeks turned a light pink at the thought of shopping with Blake. "I will ask Blake when I see her tonight."

"Right, well, shift back down. I want to see you moving around in cat form." Tukson spent over an hour having Weiss shift up and down, run through various obstacles, up ramps, climbing with her claws, leaping, crawling through tight spaces. Finally, he nodded and gestured at the clothes she'd arrived in. "Go ahead and put those back on. I think we're done for today; you look wrung out."

"I am...exhausted," Weiss admitted as she started to dress. "Shifting is very tiring."

"It will get easier with practice. I'll admit I'm a little impressed. You're very agile in your cat form, more than most people are. And you're doing better with shifting than I'd normally expect from someone as new at this as you are."

"Mental discipline is something I'm usually very good at."

Weiss reached the car before she collapsed with a moan. She was exhausted right down to the bone. He phone chirped with a message from Ruby. It was time for her 'hearing' to decide if she was going to be allowed to become a part-time resident of the house.

* * *

"Okay, the rules are, any current resident has veto power over you staying here, and we get to ask any and all questions we want." Ruby sat down in the armchair at one end of the couch. Blake and Yang were sprawled out on the couch, and Weiss had the other chair at the far end of the couch.

"First question: Any obnoxious boyfriends or ex-boyfriends we need to know about? Girlfriends maybe?" Yang grinned at Weiss. _Let's see if we can make the new girl jump._

"None."

"Obnoxious snoring? Sleepwalking?" This came from Ruby.

"No, and I think Blake's got covered as far as sleepwalking goes. How far did you wander to get to my condo, Blake?"

'Hey!" Blake jabbed Weiss in the arm. "I think we can skip the questions about a job since we already know where you work. How are you about housework? Cleaning, dishes, laundry, that sort of thing. I know you're not planning on being here all the time, but you've still got to do your share."

"I am very neat and tidy. You've seen my condo." Blake nodded.

Ruby's turn again. "What about smoking? We don't mind if you do, just take it outside."

"I switched to an e-cigarette a few years ago." Weiss pulled her mod out of her purse. "If necessary, I can change the flavor."

Blake looked at Ruby and Yang, who shrugged. "That's a new one on us. We'll see how it goes."

Yang leaned forward. "You a night owl, or are you more the 'early to bed, early to rise' sort of person?"

"I like to go to bed early unless I'm having trouble sleeping. And if I'm up, I'm usually just watching FlixNet."

"Any regular out-of-town visitors?" Blake was pretty sure of the answer to this question, but just in case.

"My mother lives in Vacuo. We talk every few weeks, but I haven't actually seen her in a couple of years. My older sister is in the Army; we meet when she's in town, which isn't often. My brother is attending post-graduate school in Atlas. I don't talk to him often."

"What about your dad?" Ruby's eyes focused on Weiss. She knew it was going to be a touchy subject, but they needed to know.

"My father is in prison." Without really thinking about it, Weiss picked up her mod, puffing on it. "He was convicted of a wide variety of charges, including embezzlement, fraud, other related crimes. What they call 'white-collar crime.' My family lost almost everything. I want as little to do with him as possible."

"Okay, I think I can live with the e-cigarette, but you've definitely got to ditch the pina colada." Yang laughed, waving at the cloud of vapor. "I'm allergic to pineapple."

Weiss looked at her mod and set it back down on the coffee table. "Sorry," she whispered, embarrassed. "I don't normally pull it out where I know I'm not supposed to."

Ruby winked. "I think we can forgive you this time. Okay, Weiss's dad is a 'do not discuss unless Weiss brings him up' subject. Everyone okay with that?" Blake and Yang muttered agreement. "Fine, let's continue."

The girls talked for another hour, covering a wide range of topics. Finally Ruby rapped on the coffee table with her cup. "I think we've covered everything important and gotten into some decidedly odd topics, _Yang_." Everyone laughed at that. Yang had brought up some decidedly odd theoretical cases, trying to 'break Weiss.' "I call for a vote on extending partial resident status to Weiss, to spend as much time as she sees fit. Said status to be free of paying rent and groceries, but to include grocery money as needed. If you're eating and drinking with us, cough up. Don't be a mooch. Said terms agreeable to Weiss?" Weiss nodded. "Since I called the vote, I vote last. Yang, your vote?"

"Aye, provided she changes the flavor on her e-cigarette. She can even do it in the house, as far as I'm concerned."

"Blake?"

"Agreed with Yang, with possible reservations about the e-cigarette. Trial basis on that, she may be asked to take it outside if needed."

Weiss giggled. "Everything so formal and polite, it doesn't seem like the three of you."

"We had to get formal about this after one of our ex-roommates didn't work out in a really bad way. She ended up in jail for assault. For myself, I vote 'aye.' Are the stated terms acceptable to all?" Everyone nodded, and Ruby grinned. "Weiss, you are now a part-time resident of the Nerdcave. Or is that Nerdhalla? Nerdvana? Whatever, welcome aboard."


	3. Problems and Pizza

Weiss stretched and yawned, stopping as her foot encountered an unexpected obstruction. "Not again," she groaned, propping herself up on her elbows. Sure enough, Blake was curled up at the foot of Weiss's bed in her cat form. Weiss sighed in irritation. Blake's sleepwalking was truly epic, that was for sure. At least this time she hadn't managed to leave the house. "Okay you, out," Weiss muttered, poking Blake with her foot.

No luck. Blake was doing a five-star impression of a sack of ball bearings, shifting around any obstacle and flowing back into place afterward. There was no other option than to pull the blanket completely off the bed, dumping Blake onto the floor inside the blanket.

After a moment, Blake slunk out from under the blankets, looking up at Weiss and yowling at her. "I have to go to work, you know," Weiss muttered, glaring down at Blake with her arms crossed. "Now go get decent. I'm going to get coffee."

It had been a month since Weiss had started spending time at the Nerdzone/Nerdcave/whatever ridiculous name Ruby wanted to give the house that day. The first week, Weiss had only spent two nights there. Last night had made her third night staying over in a row, and her fourth that week. Everything was going suspiciously well, and Weiss kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. This place felt like _home_ in some undefinable way that no place ever had, not even the luxurious mansion she'd grown up in.

In the kitchen, Yang was regarding the coffee cup in her hands with suspicion. "Good morning, Yang. You're up early. Is something wrong with the coffee?"

"Yeah. It tastes kinda odd."

"Oh?" Weiss poured herself a cup, giving it a cautious before taking a sip. "Seems fine to me. We ran out of coffee yesterday so I grabbed some I had at my condo on the way here."

"It's not bad, I suppose, just different. Doesn't taste like engine grease or anything at least."

"I also cleaned the coffee maker first. That could also have made a difference," Weiss smirked over her cup.

"Hey!" Blake walked into the kitchen, belting her yukata. "Did you have to dump me on the floor like that this morning?

That's the second time this week I have found you cat-napping in my bed. You were out cold, what else was I supposed to do?"

"It's the cat flap in the door," Blake muttered as she poured her own cup of coffee to cover her embarrassment. "I think I get confused when I'm sleepwalking and go in your door instead of mine."

Weiss had to admit that it at least that sort of made sense. After the second week, Yang had installed a cat flap in Weiss's door to so she could come and go in cat form. "J-Just don't let it happen again," Weiss stammered, turning to look out the kitchen window to hide the blush rising in her cheeks. "So, Blake, you're going to be at the museum at ten, right? Goodwitch likes people to be punctual."

"Promptly at ten," Blake replied, stepping over to stand just behind Weiss's shoulder. "Though you'll probably want me to come back after the Dixie Lane costumes get set up. They're likely to be a big draw, so you'll want pictures of them."

"Good point. I will bring that up to Goodwitch and let her know it was your idea." Today Blake was working at the museum, taking pictures of the exhibits for the Veronica Rathbone exhibit. The cinematic legend had died earlier that year, and the museum was hosting an exhibition celebrating her life and legacy. "I've got get ready for work. There's paperwork to handle before the people from the Rathbone estate arrive, and who knows when that will be. Plus I've got a lesson at Tukson's today."

Behind the black-and-white pair, the two sisters exchanged a look. Yang started to say something, but Ruby shook her head _no._ Best to let them sort it out for themselves.

* * *

Weiss stood in the middle of the controlled chaos that was the preparation for the Rathbone exhibit. Things were coming together nicely. She sidestepped a lift platform that was rolling through, tapping items on her tablet to mark them as complete.

Her eyes caught Blake, snapping pictures of exhibits that were finished being set up. Blake scowled as someone walked behind a case she was taking pictures of, ruining the shot. Without her noticing, a smile crept onto Weiss's face. Blake was such a perfectionist about her work, it was beautiful to watch. Almost as beautiful as...Weiss shook her head, dismissing the thought from her mind.

"Is everything proceeding smoothly?" Goodwitch's voice came from behind her, startling Weiss.

"Everything is going well. Most of the displays are finished now. The biggest exception is the costumes the Rathbone estate is providing, of course. And I think they'll be pleased with the displays I've arranged for those." Weiss gestured towards the main entrance to the exhibit where a large display case stood empty. "One of Dixie Lane's most iconic costumes will be displayed right inside the entrance. The others will be part of the exhibits for Victoria Rathbone's other roles. And," an unabashed grin spread across Weiss's face as her voice dropped, "there's other good news. Production wrapped on the latest season of _Grimm Tidings_ last week. So the production company has graciously provided a selection of costumes from that as well."

Goodwitch frowned. "And what does that dreadful piece of sensationalism have to do with Victoria Rathbone?"

"Other than the lead actress being Victoria Rathbone's granddaughter, nothing really. And don't worry, I think it's a bit much myself, sometimes." A red-haired woman with freckles stood behind Goodwitch, grinning as she took in the bustle around them.

Weiss's jaw dropped. "Oh my god! You're Penny Rathbone! I didn't expect you to come yourself!"

"I'm the only one of Gramma's descendants to take up acting, so I felt obligated," Penny replied with a shrug. "And Penny Rathbone is only my stage name. My real last name is Polendina. Just doesn't have the same star power, so Gramma insisted I borrow hers."

Goodwitch flushed. "Miss Polendina, I would like to apologize-"

Penny raised a hand. "Really, don't worry about it. Gramma said the first thing to remember is that not everybody is going to like your work. The critics abhorred the first Dixie Lane film, but the theaters were packed. 'At the end of the day, the biggest measure of an actor's success is how much they get paid,' she always said."

Weiss couldn't contain a giggle. "I'm a big fan of your work on _Grimm Tidings_ , Miss Polendina. I hope you'll like the portion of the exhibit we've arranged for it."

"Please, call me Penny. And I'm my own worst critic, so I'm always overwhelmed by how much people love the show."

"Penny, then.,May I please ask a personal favor?" Weiss stammered.

"Autograph or photo?" Penny laughed, her freckled cheeks dimpling. "Those are the two things everyone asks for."

"A photo, please. And I know just the shutterbug to take the picture." Weiss bent towards Penny and whispered.

"Salutations, Miss Belladonna." Blake turned at the familiar voice to see Weiss standing next to Penny Rathbone, the actress who played the lead character Penny from Grimm Tidings. "Salutations, Miss Penny," she replied, echoing the character's trademark greeting back at her.

The three of them shared a laugh, and Weiss smiled. "I see I don't need to introduce Miss Rathbone. Penny, this is Blake Belladonna, one of my roommates. I introduced them all to _Grimm Tidings_ shortly after we met."

"We're currently in the middle of season three," Blake added, shaking her head. "I can't believe you're here for the exhibit. It's an honor to meet you, Miss Rathbone."

"Penny, please. And it's an honor to be here for this exhibition." Penny's voice took on a wistful tone as she laid a hand on the front of one of the exhibit cases. "Gramma always had a sort of love-hate relationship with acting, you see. She loved the glitz and the glamour, but she hated feeling like she was a fake.'There's nothing real in Hollywood, Penny, there never was,' she said to me one time. When she learned I wanted to be an actress too, she did everything she could to discourage me. I'd done three small parts before I tried out for the role of Penny on _Grimm Tidings._ After I'd gotten the part I called Gramma to gush at her. Me, little me in a starring role! She laughed and confessed she'd always known I had what it took to be a star. Not just acting ability, but a healthy dose of humility to go with it." Penny sighed, looking at the pictures of Victoria Rathbone on display. "I miss my Gramma," she whispered, barely loud enough to hear over the sounds of the exhibit being set up around them. "Anyway, Weiss asked for a picture with the two of you. Now let's find someone to play cameraman for us, shall we?"

* * *

Weiss was humming as she stepped out the front door of Tukson's. Today she'd managed to surprise Tukson, pulling off a technique he hadn't planned on showing her for months. He'd laughed and suggested she start considering advanced lessons. "You may have gotten a late start, but you're doing really good. I'd almost call you a natural."

Her steps faltered as she saw the motorcycle parked next to her hovercar and the figure leaning up against it. "Oh, there you are, Weiss." Ilia gave Weiss one of her trademark lopsided grins. "I thought I recognized your car. Not a lot of hovercars in Vale, especially one of the first-gen ones."

Weiss walked past Ilia and opened the car door. "There's nothing to say, Ilia. We're done."

"Hold on a second, Weiss, I just want to-"

"Just want to what, Ilia? Last time I saw you, you showed up on my doorstep at three A.M., so drunk you could barely stand. Your yelling woke up my neighbors. And the time before that, you were dumping me. So I think it's safe to say we don't have anything left to say to each other. Goodbye, Ilia." Weiss started to shut the door, only to have Ilia catch the edge of the door.

"Hey, was that Tukson's I saw you coming out of? What were you doing there?"

"That is none of your concern. Now please leave me alone." Weiss jerked the door out of Ilia's hand, slamming it shut.

The sad look on Ilia's face after the door shut almost made Weiss reconsider how she'd spoken to her. Weiss collapsed back in her seat with a moan, grateful the tinting on her windows kept Ilia from seeing her. No sense re-opening that old wound. She pressed the start button and the car came to life, hovering off the ground for a moment before dropping back to the ground as its power died.

Weiss leaned forward, resting her head on the tiller bar with a whimper. And the morning had gone so well.

* * *

By the time Blake managed to make it to Tukson's, the hovercar had already been towed away to a garage. She grimaced as she saw who was standing outside the front doors with Weiss. "Hey, Weiss, sorry to take so long. Had a long-term client on the phone, and that one's a talker."

"Thank you for coming to my rescue, Blake. In more ways than one," Weiss added, shooting Ilia a glare.

"Hey, I thought I'd be nice and keep you company till your ride got here. Didn't expect it to be Blake."

"I thought I made it quite clear that I did not want to speak with you or see you again. Ever. Now please leave me alone," Weiss snapped at Ilia as she opened the car door.

"Ilia." Blake's hissed the other girl's name. "I thought I'd seen the last of you. Next time, stay gone."

"But-" Ilia started to speak, but Blake interrupted her. "Stay. Gone." She turned to Weiss, forcing a smile. "So, how did your lesson go? Other than the car dying, obviously."

"Things went very well today. I even managed to surprise Tukson with something he hadn't taught me yet..." Weiss's voice trailed off as she realized what she'd said, and who she'd said it in front of.

"Oh my god!" Ilia squealed. "I didn't know you were a shifter, Weiss! That's so cool. What's your animal? Come on, tell me!"

"None of your business, Ilia," Weiss snapped as she closed the car door.

They drove in stifling silence until Weiss spoke up. "Ilia used to be my girlfriend."

"What?!" Blake shrieked, stomping on the brakes. Cars swerved around them honking and yelling. "And you just mention this now?"

"I didn't, I hadn't—" Weiss took a deep breath and started over. "I haven't seen or heard from her in over a year. The last time I saw her, she was being hauled away from my condo in handcuffs. I was hoping never to see her again, and I didn't know you knew her."

"Well, that's just wonderful!" Blake yelled, slamming her fist down on the steering wheel. "She breaks up with you, hooks up with me, and I almost get kicked out of the house for it. I am so glad I was there to clean up your mess, Weiss!"

"Nobody asked you to! She showed up drunk and ranting on my doorstep after I hadn't seen her for months! Two of my neighbors called the cops. I almost lost my condo! And I hadn't even met you then!"

"Oh boo hoo, little princess Weiss almost lost her fancy house! Your mother might have to find somewhere else to live!"

"I pay for that condo myself, thank you very much!"

"Oh really? And I suppose you paid for your precious hovercar yourself, too?

"That car is the last thing I have left from-!"

A polite tapping at the car window interrupted Weiss's ranting. They turned to see a police officer looking in the window, peering around the inside of the car. "Is everything all right here? You're stopped in the middle of traffic arguing, that's why I'm concerned."

Silence reigned for a moment before Blake and Weiss both lost it, laughing at each other. "We're sorry, officer. We just discovered we have the same shitty ex-girlfriend," Weiss said, and Blake bit off another burst of laughter.

"Okay, well let's take this somewhere else. You're blocking the intersection, and I don't want to have to run you in for obstructing traffic."

"N-no problem, officer." Blake gave him a forced smile and started the car again. "I, uh, I'm sorry, Weiss. I shouldn't have said those things."

"It's fine." Weiss looked out the window wistfully. "The car belongs to my mother. It's left over from when we lost everything. The arrangement is, I can keep the car as long as I can afford to look after the car. And I may have to give it back now if I can't afford the repairs."

Blake winced. She had known Weiss loved that car, but not how much the car meant to her, or why. She tapped out a quick message on her phone while they were stopped fat another stoplight. "I'm calling an emergency household meeting. If Ilia's back around, we need to tell Ruby and Yang."

* * *

"So let me make sure I have this right," Yang leaned on the doorway to the kitchen, looking back and forth between Blake and Weiss. "Ilia broke up with Weiss, hooked up with Blake, got tossed out of here—at gunpoint, I will add—then shows back up drunk on Weiss's doorstep? And then today she shows up again trying to make all nice with Weiss? "

"Yes." Weiss's voice was very sad and small as she looked down at her hands. "I'd taken her back twice before that, and I can only guess she assumed I'd do it a third time." She blinked and looked up at Yang in surprise. "Wait, 'at gunpoint?'" Weiss hadn't even known there was a gun in the house.

"Yeah." Ruby shook her head. "When it came down to the vote to remove Ilia, she refused to leave. Yang got out her shotgun to make the point she wasn't welcome anymore."

"Oh god, and now she's back because of me," Weiss moaned, throwing herself back on the couch.

"It's okay." Blake gave Weiss's shoulder a squeeze. "You didn't know how much trouble she'd caused us, and you didn't whistle her up today."

"Weiss..." Ruby paused for a moment before continuing. Time to venture into dangerous territory. Weiss could be very prickly when it came to her pride. "How are you doing, money-wise? I know that neighborhood your condo's in is kinda expensive, and that hovercar isn't cheap to keep around, even if all you're paying for is upkeep. And now whatever repairs it needs..."

"I'm..." Weiss trailed off, then shook her head. "I was going to say 'I'm fine,' but I'm not, not really. I am on a fairly tight budget, however, but the fact that I don't go out much helps." She looked around the cluttered but oh-so-comfortable living room with a smile. "At least, that used to be true."

"Alright, that tears it. I put forward a motion to extend full resident status to Weiss, with the additional stipulation that she not be held responsible for her share of rent until such time as her car gets fixed." Ruby sat back on the couch with a decisive nod.

It was hard to tell who was more shocked, Blake or Weiss. "Y-you can't be serious," Blake stammered. For some reason, the idea of Weiss moving in full-time made her nervous.

"I will be fine, Ruby. If I can't afford to fix the car, I'll just give it back to my mother and get a used car," Weiss added, dread forming a writhing, spiked mass in the pit of her stomach. She was not looking forward to having to tell her mother about the car regardless of what happened to it.

Yang shook her head. "Nah, Rubes has the right idea. I don't know what you're paying for that condo, but moving in full-time here has got to be cheaper. Even with chipping in for groceries, considering Ruby's addiction to cookies-"

"Hey!" Ruby burst in, laughing.

"-you're probably going to be saving at least a few hundred Lien a month."

"But-" Blake started to interject, stopped, then continued. "Don't you have to buy into a condo? Selling her share could take months."

"There was talk at the last residents' meeting about someone looking to buy into one of the condos in the area. I can look into that tomorrow. Axnd it would be closer to work, and most likely less expensive to live with you all." Weiss glanced sideways at Blake, not wanting to meet the raven-haired girl's eyes directly. "Is...is there a problem with me moving in, Blake? You're the only one saying no..."

"No, no, it's fine. It, uh, it just feels rather fast, that's all."

Yang looked over her sunglasses at Blake. "Didn't we vote Nora in on her first day? And didn't you call the vote?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Okay, again it's me calling the vote on Weiss, so I vote last. Yang?"

"Aye, and I'll even spring for pizza tonight. The Ice Queen is way cool in my book," Yang replied with a wink.

Everyone groaned at Yang's pun as Ruby looked at Blake, who sat there thinking it over. She felt worried and nervous and excited about having Weiss there all the time. What the hell? But she really couldn't raise a good, solid objection. "Aye," Blake responded with a sigh. Cry havoc and all that.

"And I vote aye. But I want at least one garbage pizza and one with ham and pineapple for Weiss," Ruby finished, sticking her tongue out at Yang.

* * *

Weiss chewed her lip as she paced around her room, waiting for her mother to pick up. No sense putting this off. Her mother always hated finding out that people had hidden bad news from her. "Weiss, I was just thinking about calling you. What's the occasion?"

"It's...it's the car, mother. It's dead."

"Dead? Dead how? You weren't in a wreck or anything, were you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. No, I went to start the car after...leaving a class I'm taking. It started up but lost power almost instantly. It's at a garage now. I should have a better idea what the problem is tomorrow."

"Mmm. Honestly, that thing's always been trouble. I wonder what your father saw in that thing when he bought it." Weiss knew exactly what had been on her father's mind when he bought the car. She had been very young when the first hovercars came out and was instantly fascinated by them. Her father had taken her for a 'test drive' in one as a birthday surprise and she hadn't been able to shut up about it for days. Weiss brought herself back to the present as her mother continued. "Give me the number for the mechanic, I'll take care of the repairs. it may be time we got rid of the thing anyway. I'll see about selling it to a collector or something."

"But..." Weiss faltered, then recovered. "I still need a car, mother."

"Oh, absolutely. Vale's just too big to rely on public transportation, and your condo's what, a good forty-five minutes from the museum if the traffic's good? I'll see about renting a car for you first thing in the morning, Vale time. It's a little late to call them now, isn't it? I could never keep track of time zones. We can work out more permanent transportation once we decide what to do about the car."

"You mean once _you_ decide what to do about the car." Weiss didn't even try to keep her irritation out of her voice.

Her mother sighed. "Yes, once I decide what to do about the car. Of course we'll talk about it, but to be honest, we can probably buy a brand-new hovercar or regular car for a fraction of what that thing will fetch from a collector. Now, on to other news: Your father has been granted parole."

Weiss's blood ran cold. "Perfect. On top of everything else that's happened today, that's. Just. _Perfect_." she snarled.

"I've already arranged for a restraining order forbidding him from coming anywhere near me. Should I arrange one for your work and condo as well?"

"Yes, thank you." Weiss started pacing her room, slamming her fist into the wall. Just one more goddamn thing today. "Oh! I'm moving, I'm getting rid of the condo; it really was too expensive for one person living alone. I found some new friends and we'll be sharing a house. It's closer to work even."

"New friends is a good thing, Weiss. But can you trust these people?"

Blake poked her head through the cat flap, meowing at Weiss. "They're fine, mother. One of them works at the museum with me," she said, making a shooing gesture at Blake. Instead of leaving, Blake came the rest of the way through the door and wound herself around Weiss's legs. She prodded Blake away with a foot, frowning at her. "I know perfectly well you're not a normal cat, Blake. Now shoo."

"What was that, Weiss? I didn't quite catch it." Her mother's voice sounded amused.

"Oh, one of my roommates is a shifter. She wandered into my room and is pretending to be a normal cat," Weiss replied with a laugh as Blake hopped up on the bed, meowing at Weiss. "Probably pestering me because the pizza's here."

"A shifter? I wasn't really sure those existed. Have you seen her do it?"

"Yes, it's sort of how I met Blake." Weiss sat down on the bed, and Blake meowed piteously at her again. "I, well, there's no good way to say this, but I found out I'm a shifter too recently. A cat shifter like Blake."

"Oh! Well, you'll have to show me next time we meet. I was planning a trip to Vale in the next few months anyway. Now, on to other things. Any new young men in your life?"

"Mother..." Weiss rolled her eyes at the ceiling. Not _this_ again..."We've talked about this, mother. I'm a lesbian. Say it with me, one word, three syllables, _lesbian_."

"Fine." Her mother sounded more annoyed about being corrected than the car. "You can't blame me for holding out hope, can you?" Weiss gritted her teeth in frustration. "Any new young ladies in your life, then?"

"No, not currently," Weiss said, playing with Blake's ears to keep her from butting at Weiss. "Honestly, other things are topping my priority list right now. The car, the move, and getting a handle on being a shifter."

"Well, don't stop looking, Weiss. I don't like the idea of you being alone. Your sister found someone, even if he's old enough to be her father."

"Weiss? The pizza's here. And have you seen Blake? She left her clothes out here," Yang's voice came from the hall.

"I've got to go, mother. I'll talk to you later. Goodnight." She ended the call and flopped back on the bed. "Great, father's on parole, and my mother still wants me to find a 'nice young man' and settle down. But at least there's pizza." Blake meowed and popped out the cat flap, startling Yang. Weiss almost followed suit, but she wasn't quite ready to eat pizza naked.

Today had been rough, but overall, life was good.


	4. Unexpected Visitors

Weiss stopped, hands on her hips as she walked into her office. "And what, exactly, are you doing rummaging through my desk, Cinder?" she snapped.

Cinder stood, smiling. "Oh, I was looking for the invoices for the local artists' exhibition. Goodwitch sent me down for them, and since I didn't see your car in the parking lot this morning, I didn't think you were in today. You've been gone a bit lately, after all."

Weiss snorted. _Likely story,_ she thought to herself. Gods, she hated Cinder Fall. That oh-so-carefully-arranged hair that hid her left eye, her oh-so-smooth voice that positively dripped arrogance. Cinder had already been working as an assistant director when Weiss started and had offered to 'show Weiss the ropes.' It hadn't taken Weiss long to realize that Cinder wasn't interested in teaching her how to do anything but be Cinder's lackey, and the only ropes she'd be showing her involved Cinder's bed.

"My car is in the shop, and I am here now, so you can stop snooping. Did Goodwitch want specific invoices or all of them?" Weiss set her purse down on her desk, frowning. Something was out of place...

"Oh, your hovercar broke down? What a pity, I do so like that fancy toy of yours. No, she wants the estimates from the caterers. There's a discrepancy she wants me to run down." Cinder folded her arms and stood in front of Weiss's desk, her ever-present smirk growing a little. "I'm surprised you didn't catch it."

Weiss shrugged, stopping before she opened the lock to her file drawer and reaching for the computer on her desk instead. "I hadn't looked at them that closely. The Rathbone exhibit has been my major focus the last few weeks. And you should have all of the estimates already, I sent them to you as they came in. But just in case..." She logged into her computer and forwarded all of the estimates to Cinder's email. "There. I've just sent you fresh copies."

"And that's all of them? No printed paper estimates?"

"None. All the estimates were solicited and submitted by email. Why?"

"Mmm. Not sure. One of the caterers is saying his initial estimate was ignored, so he sent a print copy by courier."

"If it was, I never saw it."

"Might be in my office, then." Cinder left, Weiss scowling at her now-closed office door. She could have sworn she'd locked the door before she left, but that hadn't stopped Cinder before. "Bitch," she swore under her breath. Now Weiss felt all out of sorts, like she wanted to curl up in the sun somewhere and take a nap.

She started to reach a paw towards her computer, then stopped, frowning. Weiss was in human form at the moment, not cat, so why had her hand seemed like a paw for a moment there? Right, she'd been told about this. Sometimes a shifter's mind could become confused as to which form they were in.

Weiss sat down on her desk, taking a deep breath and drawing on some of the kuroi techniques Tukson had taught her. She used her hand as a focus to begin 'building' her human self in her mind, moving up her arm to her shoulder, then across her other torso and down her other arm. Weiss had just reached her left knee when a knock on her office door broke her concentration. "Come in," she called, adjusting her bolero.

Penny walked in, smiling and trying to hide a tubular object behind her back. "Good morning, Weiss. I've got something for you. A gesture of thanks for your work on Gramma's exhibition. It's one of the promo posters for the new season, signed by me and Ethan Varcour."

"Thank you, Penny." Weiss blushed, taking the gift. "Now my biggest concern is, do I display it here or at home?"

"Here, definitely. Your office could use a little sprucing up."

Penny's words made Weiss stop in thought. She'd always kept her office neat and tidy, but maybe it was a little too...spartan? Since meeting Blake and the others, her life had become a lot less orderly, and a lot more enjoyable. Perhaps it was time for Weiss's office to reflect how much more _living_ there was in her life now. Even Goodwitch had a collection of clown dolls in hers. Weiss shivered at the thought of those creepy dolls watching her blankly whenever she had to visit Goodwitch. "I do believe you're right. Over here by the coffee machine will be just perfect."

* * *

Winter frowned as she pulled up to the address her sister had given her. She was having trouble imagining Weiss living in a place like this. It was a rambling, ranch-style house that looked to have been rebuilt and remodeled several times, but in its favor, the house appeared to be in good repair and the yard was neatly groomed.

Composing herself, Winter got out of the car and approached a blonde woman she could see dismounting a motorcycle in the driveway. Maybe she knew Weiss and could direct her to the right house? That was something normal people did, knew their neighbors, right? "Excuse me, I'm looking for my sister's house, and I seem to have gotten lost. The address is 1313 Mockingbird Lane."

The blonde woman shook her head. "You're not lost. This is the place," she answered, gesturing expansively toward the house. "Welcome to our own little patch of insanity. I'm Yang, and you are...?"

"Winter, Weiss's older sister. I don't see her car, but you say she... lives here? Willingly?" Winter cursed herself internally for adding that last word. He opinion was something to discuss with Weiss in private.

Yang crossed her arms and her voice took on a defensive tone. "Hey, don't knock it. I've only known Weiss for like a month, but she seems to like it here. And she's not a prisoner or anything."

"I apologize. It's just that...this doesn't seem her style."

"I don't think Weiss's style was her style. Come on, she's probably inside setting up for Bad Movie Night."

Winter gave the interior of the house a critical eye as Yang led her in search of Weiss. The decor was...eclectic, yes that was a kind word. Pop culture posters decorated the walls, including one for that dreadful show Weiss was so fond of, what was it called, _Grimm Tidings,_ that was it. A display case of the sort most people would have used to display jewelry or art or other valuables was filled with action figures.

Familiar laughter came from the direction of the kitchen as Weiss and a black-haired woman danced around each other, trading places so Weiss could move into the living room and the other woman could step into the kitchen. Weiss was laughing? When was the last time she'd heard her sister laugh? Maybe Weiss living here wasn't so bad a thing after all. "Winter!" Weiss shrieked, setting down the bowl of chips she was carrying and dashing over to hug her older sibling.

Winter froze, startled. Now Weiss was hugging her? Weiss didn't 'do' hugs. "It's...it's good to see you as well, sister. How have you been? Is something wrong?"

"Why would anything be wrong? I mean, yes, my car's broken, and mother's thinking about getting rid of it, but other than that, everything's fine. Well, more than fine, really." Weiss frowned as she pulled back holding her sister at arm's length. "Is something wrong with _you?_ I wasn't expecting to see you today."

"No, nothing's wrong, exactly. It's sort of a conjunction of circumstances that brings me here today. I am in Vale on business with General Ironwood and, well, I haven't seen you in a while, so I thought I'd come and visit you before my date tonight."

"Ah, that explains the fancy duds. Yang approves." Yang saluted with the beer she was now holding from one of the recliners flanking the couch.

"I'm so glad my appearance meets with your approval," Winter retorted.

'Winter, Yang, be polite. Now, Winter, I have some interesting news. I found out I'm a shifter about a month ago." Weiss gave a little smile.

"Impossible," Winter snapped, crossing her arms and shaking her head. "Shifters do not exist. They're a myth, right up there with psychic powers. Even though I keep hearing how common they are, I have never met one."

"But it's true." Weiss was puzzled. How could Winter not believe her? It was like not believing in gravity, or the color blue.

"I still say it is impossible. Given the changes in size, where does the extra mass go? Or come from?" Winter shook her head again. "I refuse to believe it."

"Well, maybe you'll believe this." There was a flicker of motion, and suddenly there was a Siamese cat sitting on top of Weiss's clothing. It padded forward, rubbing against Winter's legs, meowing at her.

Winter was frozen, staring down at the cat her sister had apparently become. "Im-impossible! It must be some sort of trick."

Blake shook her head as she came back out of the kitchen. "No tricks, besides shifting itself."

Weiss gave another meow and hopped up on the back of a chair, then onto Winter's shoulder even as Winter shook her head in disbelief again. "I still refuse to believe it. This is some sort of trick, it simply has to be."

Blake snickered as Weiss started trying to sit on Winter's head. The annoyed expression as Winter tried to get Weiss off her was priceless. "I think your sister has had enough, Weiss."

"Yes, please, this trick has gone on long enough. Come out from wherever you are, Weiss, and remove this flea-bitten animal from my head." Winter tried again to remove Weiss, only to end up with Weiss sitting on her other shoulder, hissing at her.

"Looks like your sister is pretty mad at being called a liar, or maybe it was 'flea-bitten' she didn't like." Yang was chortling, not bothering to hold back her laughter at Winter's distress.

Frustrated, the older Schnee relented. "Weiss, I believe you! Please get off my head before you ruin my hair. I have a date tonight, remember." Weiss was so surprised she fell off Winter's shoulder, bringing a slight smile to her sister's lips. One furry paw reached out to pet Winter's arm before Weiss bounded off the couch and down the hallway. "Weiss, where are you going?"

"Probably to get dressed." Blake gestured at the pile of clothing Weiss had left behind. "Shifting our clothes is something we have to learn, and it isn't easy."

"Then...then you're a shifter too?" Winter was incredulous; not just her sister but this raven-haired woman as well? "I am still having trouble accepting that they actually exist."

Blake started to talk, then stopped at voices from the front door. "Yeah, I am. It sounds like Ruby's back, and we have another visitor."

Ruby wandered into the living room, carrying shopping bag and trailed by an older man with graying black hair. "Yang, look who's in town for a while, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby was giddy with glee at seeing her favorite (okay, only) uncle, but stopped in her tracks at the sight of Winter. "Oh, who's this? Hi, I'm Ruby."

"Good to meet you. I'm Winter, Weiss's older sister, and apparently, she's wandered off to get human again." Winter sighed, looking again at the pile of clothes her sister had left behind.

"Winter didn't think shifters existed, so Weiss demonstrated. It was kinda funny." Yang was still grinning at the memory of Winter's discomfort.

"Nah, Snowflake, shifters are real. Trust me, I know," Qrow said with a chuckle.

Snowflake? How did the man know that name? Then she took another look at the man standing with Ruby. _"Blackbird?"_ she shrieked in shock.

"Yeah, that's me. The name's Qrow, Qrow Branwen, and I suppose that'll do for an introduction, even if it's not the one I wanted." Qrow held out his hand and Winter shook it gingerly.

"One of you want to let the rest of us in on the joke?" Ruby was glaring at Winter and Qrow, her hands on her hips. Something was odd here.

"We met through an internet dating site. She and I were supposed to meet in person for the first time tonight." Qrow grinned as a muffled "What?!" came from the direction of Weiss's room.

"You'll forgive me, Mister Branwen, but I'm not at my best right now. I just learned something disturbing about my sister."

"Being a shifter is _not_ disturbing, Winter," Weiss snapped, walking back into the room fully dressed again. "It's a perfectly natural ability. Just because you're having trouble accepting it doesn't make it something wrong!"

"It's not that it's wrong, I just didn't think they existed. Now, I'm not so sure." Winter scowled, meeting her sister's glare.

Qrow shook his head. He could see a full-blown sister fight brewing, and he didn't want that. If nothing else, it would ruin his date with Winter. "Presented with empirical evidence, one must bow to the inevitable. What it took to convince me shifters existed was pretty damn empirical too."

"And what did it take to convince you, Mister Branwen?" Winter's eyes flickered to Qrow, then back to her sister.

"Call me Qrow, please. And I guess you could say I fell out a window and learned to fly on the way down."

Everyone turned to stare at Qrow. "I didn't know you were a shifter, Uncle Qrow! See, there's still a chance I could be one, Yang."

Yang laughed, giving her sister a playful bonk on the top of her head. "No dice, sis. Remember, he's my mom's sister, not yours. Hey, maybe that means I have the trick. It's about time my mom was good for something."

"Let me make sure I have something clear here." Weiss pointed a finger at Qrow. "Your drunken, womanizing uncle is my sister's _date?"_

"First, I'm sober, have been for almost a year now. And second, I like the ladies, yeah, but I'm getting too old to chase after them like I used to." Qrow shook his head ruefully. "If I'd known twenty years ago what I know now, I'd have had a lot fewer misadventures."

An uncomfortable silence spread across the room. Then Weiss spoke. "Has mother talked to you? About our father, I mean."

"Yes." Winter grimaced. "I managed to get the number of his parole officer and left him a message asking our father not to make contact with me except under emergency circumstances. Give how much I travel, the restraining order mother suggested isn't practical. And you?"

"I...agreed to the restraining order mother wanted, given that she already had cause to be angry with me. The hovercar broke down a couple of days ago. Mother's debating now whether to have it fixed or sell it to a collector. Apparently, the first-generation hovercars are highly sought-after collector's items." Weiss slumped down in one of the recliners. "All in all, it's been a bit of a rough week."

"Hey." Everyone turned to look at Qrow. "Listen, Winter, it sounds like you and your sister have some catching up to do. I'm going to be in Vale for a while on work; why don't we reschedule our date?"

"Might I suggest something in between? You seem to want to catch up with your nieces as well. What would you think of doing something together as a group? And, I'm sorry but I didn't catch your name, miss? You'd be welcome as well."

"Well..." Ruby looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "The four of us already had plans. It's Bad Movie Night tonight, and this time it's Weiss's turn to pick. So, what's on deck, Weiss?"

"Drink!" Blake, Weiss, and Yang chorused, and Ruby groaned as she remembered the rule against asking what the movie is. Qrow just laughed. "Sounds like fun. But you don't want an old man butting in."

"Nonsense." A hint of a smirk lurked at the corners of Winter's mouth. "I'm curious myself to see what film my sister has chosen. I'm sure it's of the highest quality."

Weiss quirked her left eyebrow as she produced the first disc. "First thing, I think you've misunderstood the idea behind 'Bad Movie Night.' The idea is to select the some of the most _horrible_ movies imaginable. These are films you wish you hadn't watched. And second, tonight I have not one, not two, but a three-film series for us. Sisters, friends, RubyI" — "Hey!" Ruby yelped—"I give you our first feature presentation, the cult classic _Hell Comes to Frogtown!_ Blake, you're on deck for drinks."

* * *

It was really late by the time the finished the third movie. Even Ruby was yawning and stretching as she stood up. "Weiss, congratulations. I think even Yang was impressed. Those were truly, truly terrible."

Yang yawned and stretched, stopping her arm before it could catch the sleeping Winter in the head. "Yeah, I've watched a lot of bad movies, but those were epically bad. Bravo, Weiss. Did you watch these before tonight?"

"Of course." Weiss took a small bow. "Do you honestly think I'd subject you all to something I hadn't watched myself?" She looked at where Qrow and Winter were slumped up against each other asleep. "So do we wake Qrow and Winter, or let them sleep."

"Well, if it was my uncle or sister, I'd say let them sleep and take embarrassing photos. They do look cute together," was Blake's opinion as she started picking up the mess off the coffee table. "And to be fair, I don't think your uncle had anything but soda."

"Nope." Qrow's eyes opened blearily and he started to shift, then stopped as he realized Winter was still slumped up against him. "One drink turns into two, and then this whole mess starts over again. I have officially sworn off for good, or as best I can. Bad memories that I don't want to talk about." He started to gently ease the elder Schnee sister off him, only to stop as Winter leaned into him harder. "Save me."

"Not quite yet." Weiss snapped a photo with her phone. "Now we can free you from my sister's clutches. Honestly, I'm surprised. She's even more of a lightweight than me."

"And that takes doing," Yang laughed as she helped Weiss ease Winter off Qrow. "So, is there going to be a second date, Uncle Qrow?"

"Up to her. I'll say I enjoyed her company." He slid out from under Winter before Weiss and Yang gently laid her out on the couch. "Honestly, she's a little tightly wound, but I think that's mostly because she's got little in her life besides work. Get her out and around people some more, I think she'll be just fine."

"I know that feeling," Weiss sighed as she covered Winter with a blanket. Blake reached out and gave Weiss's shoulder a squeeze, Weiss laying a hand on top of Blake's. In hindsight, Weiss could see how terribly lonely she'd been before Blake and the others had come into her life. Yes, she'd had friends, but not like this. And her love life had been shallow and superficial too. Gods, she felt closer to _Blake_ now than she had to Ilia the whole time they'd been dating.

Weiss yawned and stretched as she stood up from the couch and headed toward her room. Now, why had Blake come to mind just there? She frowned as she remembered how often Blake sleepwalked into her bed. They'd even met that way, hadn't they? And of her three roommates, she was definitely most comfortable with Blake. Then there was the fact that they'd both dated Ilia, although she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. They were good friends, could they be...more?

Weiss yawned again as she shut her bedroom door behind her, getting undressed for bed. It was far too late to be considering such things seriously. Time for rest.


	5. Sins of the Past

Weiss slumped as she walked through the door. It had been, to put it mildly, been a long day. Just as she'd been leaving for work, her mother had called. The decision had been made about the hovercar; there was a collector in Vale that was willing to give a good price for it, as-is. Her mother was giving Weiss a portion of the money, which was more than enough to buy herself a very nice new car, possibly even a hovercar, depending on how extravagant Weiss wanted to get.

She had pleaded with her mother not to sell the car, but in the end, her mother had stood firm. The car was almost twenty years old, was a maintenance nightmare, and she just couldn't see why Weiss was so attached to the car.

Weiss knew, even though she couldn't bring herself to admit it out loud. The car was one of the few good memories she had of her father growing up, and she desperately wanted to cling to it, despite the suffering he'd caused their family in later years.

That had segued into a morning filled with administrative trivia, accomplishing nothing but producing paperwork. Then the Rathbone estate's lawyers had descended upon the Vale Museum of Art, insisting on a full review of the museum's security. The upside of that was getting to see both Penny and Qrow again. (Qrow was the security consultant the estate had hired.)

And _that_ had turned into dinner with Director Ozpin, Deputy Director Goodwitch, Penny, Qrow, and the estate's lawyers. Not that Weiss minded spending more time with Penny, of course; in person, Penny had turned out to be just as fun to be around as she was in interviews. Very different from the oddly formal character she played on the show.

All of which added up to it being very late when a thoroughly exhausted Weiss staggered through the door. The house was quiet, so everyone else was probably asleep by now. In fact, the only sound she could hear was a soft snoring from the living room. Sure enough, Blake was asleep on the couch in cat form, the moonlight shining off her jet-black fur just so. A wicked thought crept into Weiss's mind. Maybe she wasn't quite so exhausted as she'd thought...

Weiss shifted down into cat form, creeping forward slowly and carefully, so as not to alert Blake. Not that there was much chance of her waking Blake up, given how soundly Blake normally slept, but you never knew.

She hopped up on the opposite end of the couch from Blake, padding softly toward where the other shifter slept. Not even a twitch to show she was aware of Weiss's presence. _Wonderful._ Weiss crouched down on her forepaws, her butt gave a reflexive wiggle, then she pounced, knocking Blake off the couch.

The two of them rolled around on the floor for a few moments, batting at each other with their paws, before Blake realized who had pounced on her. She pulled away from Weiss, her head tilted quizzically, then _mrowed_ at Weiss as if to say _What the hell, Weiss?_ Weiss just reached up and poked Blake's nose with a single claw before bounding away. With another _mrow_ , this time of amusement, Blake followed.

She chased Weiss down the hallway, skidding wide when the Siamese took an unexpected turn into Yang's open door. The blonde was soundly asleep, sprawled half off her futon, snoring softly. Weiss tried to jump over Yang but didn't quite make it, landing on their blonde roommate before bounding away. Yang lifted her head sleepily, muttering "Huh? Wazzat?" and rubbing her eyes. Blake followed Weiss's example and jumped over Yang and continuing the pursuit.

"Goddamn cats," Yang muttered as she started to settle back to sleep. "Wait, we don't have cats... Blake, Weiss! Knock that shit off!" she yelled as she rolled over and sat up. "New house rule: No cat chases in other people's rooms!"

Weiss faked a turn into Ruby's room only to jink down the hall towards Blake's room. Blake stumbled, rebounded off Ruby's door with a thump, then followed Weiss into Blake's room.

Weiss sat on the end of Blake's bed, nonchalantly grooming herself with a paw as if she didn't have a care in the world. _Oh, you are so going to get it,_ Blake thought as she padded towards her friend. She pounced on her white-furred roommate, and Weiss dodged out of the way, down the hallway past Yang, who stood in her doorway, not sure if she should be laughing at the chase or annoyed at being woken up abruptly.

Weiss turned down the hallway to the front door, intending to take the chase outside, only to bounce off the locked cat flap with a meow of confusion. Blake pounced on her before she could recover, and the pair wrestled around on the floor in the entryway.

A rattle at the lock made them look up. Who-? Yang reached over them, yawning. "If you two are done flirting-" she said, opening the door to see a bedraggled blonde man standing there with keys in his hand.

"Uh, hey, Yang, I was wondering if I could crash here tonight? Pyrrha and me, we had a fight." He looked down. "Oh, hey Blake, who's your friend?"

"Jaune, call me crazy, but don't people normally call before showing up at someone's house this late at night? Blake's friend is Weiss, our new roommate." Yang looked down at Blake and Weiss. "Weiss, this is Jaune, one of our ex-roommates, I think we've mentioned him. You two, either go get dressed or get a room. Let's hear what Jaune has to say."

* * *

"Look, Pyrrha and I had a fight, she threw me out of the car while we were driving home, and I didn't know anywhere else I could go. I would have called, but my phone's dead." Jaune sighed and hung his head. "Sorry. Nice to meet you, by the way, Weiss. I guess you're Blake's new girlfriend?"

"What makes you say that?" the white-haired woman answered sharply, crossing her legs. She'd know this 'Jaune' for less than five minutes, and already she didn't like him.

"You're kinda wearing her robe," Jaune replied with a dry chuckle as Ruby stumbled into the living room, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Hey, Jaune," she yawned.

Weiss looked down. Sure enough, she was wearing the yukata Blake normally used for sleepwear. "What the-how did this get on the back of my door? Blake!" she hissed.

"Sorry! Must have ended up in your laundry by mistake." Blake blushed. She had to admit that it looked good on Weiss, though.

"It's fine," Weiss replied in a tone that most definitely indicated it was _not_ fine. "So what do we do about dumb, blonde, and heartbroken here?"

"Honestly, if they had a fight— _yawn—_ let him charge his phone and see if Pyrrha's cooled off and wants to talk to him yet." Ruby slumped backward in her chair. "Somebody toss him a blanket, I want to go back to beeed."

"Motion seconded," Yang replied, sitting down next to Jaune with her phone in hand. "With the addition that I'm going to text the Amazonian one and let her know her idiot's safe."

"Hey, I'm not an idiot!"

"Normally, no, but when it comes to women, you're five-star. Hitting on Blake right after being introduced to her girlfriend comes to mind." Yang's phone buzzed. "Ah, a response. 'I'll come collect him in the morning. He's still in trouble.' Wow, what did you do, Romeo? She sounds pissed."

Jaune hung his head in his hands. "Yeah, I screwed up pretty bad. Mrs. Millardo called yesterday, wanting to bring one of her granddaughters in today for a private practice session. Some charity ball or another this weekend, and she wanted to make sure she could dance properly in her new dress. Honestly, I'm surprised she could _breathe_ in that dress. Didn't leave much to the imagination, you know? So Pyrrha shows up early, while I'm still practicing with Mrs. Millardo's barely-dressed granddaughter, and she gets this _look_ on her face. Then we're driving home and she asks me if I thought the granddaughter was pretty. I said she was, and then Pyrrha throws me out of the car."

"Dolt," Weiss snapped. "She was seeing if you thought the granddaughter was prettier than she was. And what exactly do you do for a living?"

"Dance instructor. I have seven sisters, so I learned to dance early. Just kind of turned it into a career, you know?"

"I see. And you kept things professional with this other young lady?"

"Completely proper. Hands where exactly where should be, proper distance and everything. I don't get frisky with clients. Pyrrha, Pyrrha was the exception, and she asked me out. More than once. And now, now..." Jaune sighed. "Pyrrha is amazing. She's so incredibly out of my league, way better than I deserve, and I mess things up with her on a regular basis."

Weiss stomped over and yanked Jaune up by the scruff of his neck. "Then _tell her that._ Tell her there was nothing between you and this Mrs. Millardo's granddaughter, that you were just doing your job. Tell her how gorgeous and wonderful she is. Keep it simple, keep it sweet, keep it heartfelt. Don't overthink it." She shoved him back on the couch and stalked down the hallway. "You three can deal with him, I'm going to bed. Alone!" The four of them could hear the door to Weiss's room slam.

"She's um, she's nice," Jaune said awkwardly.

"She's had a rough month. And she's not used to the level of chaos that's normal around here. Another lost soul, just like you," Ruby muttered. "Motion seconded on bedtime. Jaune, blankets, and pillows are in the linen closet like always, help yourself. 'Night everybody."

* * *

"Thank you for coming, Miss Schnee," Director Ozpin said, waving her to an unoccupied chair. "I understand you must be busy. Hopefully, we can get this cleared up quickly."

Weiss looked around the conference room as she sat. The current bane of her existence, the Rathbone estate's lawyers, sat arrayed around the table, glowering at her. Penny was notably absent. "It's not a problem, Director."

"Miss Schnee, we have some concerns about your continued involvement with the Veronica Rathbone exhibition." This came from one of the lawyers, a skinny, smarmy one named Cyan. "Certain aspects of your personal situation lead us to feel you may not be the most trustworthy person to have in charge of this exhibit."

"That's nonsense!" Goodwitch snapped. "Miss Schnee is a valued employee of this institution, with our full trust."

Cyan shook his head. "That may be the case, Miss Goodwitch, but there are facts that have been brought to our attention which lead us to doubt her trustworthiness. For example, are you aware that she's currently undergoing substance abuse counseling?"

"I am not!" Weiss said, at the same time as Goodwitch said, "That's nonsense!"

Cyan slid a picture across the table. It showed Ilia and Weiss standing outside Tukson's. "Then would you care to explain this? You were seen waiting outside this establishment for some time. Car trouble, I believe?"

Weiss swore under her breath. She'd forgotten that Tukson shared his building with a substance abuse counselor. "I was there, yes, but not for the reasons you suggest. I've been taking _fukoi_ lessons, my master uses the other part of that building."

" _Fukoi?"_ The question came from a rat-faced man whose name escaped Weiss. "What is that, some sort of martial art?"

"I recently discovered that I'm a shifter. _Fukoi_ is a term for the mental discipline of controlling one's shifting and associated techniques."

"Hmm." The rat-faced man tapped away at his phone. "That checks out. There's a _fukoi_ master named Tukson that shares a building with a substance abuse counselor. And the street view of his building matches that photo."

"See, perfectly reasonable, now if that is all, gentlemen-" Ozpin began, but Cyan interrupted him.

"That's not all, Director Ozpin. There's also her financial situation. She's living well beyond her means. There's the expensive classic hovercar she owns, the condo she lives in, neither of which she should be able to afford on her salary here."

"The car belongs to my mother and is currently in the process of being sold to a collector. She was letting me drive it but has finally decided it's time to let the car go. And as far as the condo goes, I don't live there anymore." Weiss was seething by now, who in the hell was feeding them this garbage? "Gentlemen, and lady, someone is feeding you misleading information, trying to discredit me. I have been employed by this institution for years, and in that time, my behavior has been nothing but professional. Are there any other unsubstantiated rumors you'd like me to address, or may I return to my duties? Which include, I'd like to note, final preparations for the opening of the exhibit this weekend."

"There's one more issue I'd like to address." The lone woman among the lawyers spoke up for the first time Weiss could remember. "Your father."

"My father's crimes have nothing to do with me. I was a child when they were committed, and I had no involvement in them." Weiss crossed her arms, glaring at the woman."Yes, he's currently out on parole, but I haven't seen or spoken with him, not in years. In fact, I have taken out a restraining order against him."

"I see." The woman looked markedly unconvinced as she stood. "Perhaps we have acted prematurely. But I hope you can understand our concerns, Miss Schnee. We'll take a closer look at these allegations, and will get back in touch with you if we feel there's need. Have a nice day, Miss Schnee."

"Bitch," Weiss swore softly under her breath after the lawyers were safely gone.

"Now, Miss Schnee, there's no need to be nasty. I'm fairly certain she's had all her shots," Ozpin said with a smile.

"I'm sorry, Director, it's just-"

"I know. It's never easy to face allegations like that. But I'll make get to the bottom of this... As I said earlier, you're a valued employee of this institution, and I'd hate to lose you." Goodwitch nodded her agreement. "Oh, there is one more thing. An addition to the guest list for this weekend. Do you know a Cardin Winchester?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes. I used to know his family. Why?"

"It seems Mister Winchester and his father will be in Vale for the next month or so on business, and they've expressed an interest in attending the opening of the exhibit. Cardin, in particular, was looking forward to seeing you again."

* * *

When Blake got home, Weiss was sitting on the back patio with a lit cigarette in her hand, the ashtray already half-full of butts. "I thought you switched over to that gizmo of yours."

The glare she got in return could have leveled small towns. Vale, for example. "There are those days I still crave a real cigarette. Today is one of those days, 'in spades' as ruby would put it. I found out that there was a last-minute addition to the guest list for this weekend, a mister Cardin Winchester."

Blake scooted a chair next to Weiss, doing her best to ignore the cigarette smoke wafting into her face. "You sound about as thrilled about that as you would being diagnosed with leprosy."

"Cardin Winchester... is a part of my past I would like to leave behind." Weiss lit a fresh cigarette from the cherry of the old before stabbing it out, drawing deeply on the fresh cigarette. "I have been 'out' to my family since I was fourteen. Even my father accepted it, so long as I pretended to be interested in men as well in public."

"Wait, your dad said you had to _pretend_ to be bi?" Blake blinked in shock; the whole concept was utterly ridiculous.

"Indeed. But as long as I feigned an interest in the right sort of people in public, my private life was mine to do with as I pleased." Weiss looked up into the darkening evening sky; she wasn't sure Blake was the best person to tell this to, but something in her screamed for her to tell _someone._ "Cardin was one of the young men I was... pressured to pay the most attention to. His family was wealthy, powerful, and being on good terms with them opened new business opportunities for my father.

"In the end, I may have gone too far with Cardin, misled him to believe I held some true affection for him. When it started to become obvious that my father was indeed guilty of everything he was accused of, and more, Cardin came to me. He proposed to me, even said he'd accept an open marriage so long as there were rules in place, a certain amount of discretion, that sort of thing. When I refused, he offered to support my mother and brother in a life of reasonable comfort as an added incentive. Again, I declined his offer.

"Couldn't take no for an answer, huh?" Blake leaned over and laid an arm across Weiss's shoulders, fighting the urge to complain about the cigarette smoke.

"No. After I refused him again, Cardin went to my mother, told her that if she convinced me to marry him, the offer still stood. She made a token attempt to convince me, but her heart really wasn't in it."

"And now you're worried he's going to make a play for you again," Blake said, coughing.

"Sorry." Weiss stabbed out her cigarette. "At the very least, I'll have to see him at the opening. And when I show up alone, he's sure to try and force his way into being my 'escort' for the evening."

"So bring a date. There's got to be someone, right?"

"Blake, I don't know anyone I can ask. All of my exes are unavailable except Ilia, and I sure as hell am not about to ask her!"

"What about me?" Weiss sat up, looking at Blake, and the black-haired girl smiled. "It's just one night, a few hours, right? We can pretend for that long, can't we?"

"Or maybe," a smile started to creep across Weiss's face, lightening her gloom, "maybe I'm taking you there as a first date to impress you."

"Hmm, I hear the beginnings of a plan here," Blake muttered. "Let's take this inside. But first, mouthwash for you. Your breath smells like cigarette smoke"


End file.
